University Names Penn Nursing Professor as Evan C Thompson Term Chair for Excellence in Teaching
Interim Provost Beth A. Winkelstein and Vice Provost for Education Karen Detlefsen are pleased to announce the appointment of Penn Nursing’s Jie Deng, PhD, RN, OCN, FAAN, Associate Professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences, Faculty Director of the Laboratory of Innovative & Translational Nursing Research, and Senior Fellow in the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, to the Evan C Thompson Term Chair for Excellence in Teaching, beginning July 1, 2023.
Deng’s research focuses on long-term cancer survival, especially related to secondary lymphedema, which can cause swelling and hard tissue in the head and neck area following cancer treatment. Secondary lymphedema impacts 75 percent of US head and neck cancer survivors and profoundly affects physical functions such as speech, breathing, and swallowing. Deng has led pioneering research projects – supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, and American Cancer Society, among others – to define, measure, and improve patient outcomes for this critical yet understudied area of cancer survivorship.
Deng is renowned for her strong commitment to teaching and mentoring students at every level of nursing training, including leading the core courses in both the MSN and PhD programs. Before her doctoral studies, she served for four years as Associate Chief Nursing Officer at Peking University Third Hospital, following earlier positions there as Supervisor of the Medical Department and Emergency Room Head Nurse. A Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, she received a PhD from the School of Nursing at Vanderbilt University and an MS and BS from the School of Nursing at Peking University.